Page 40 of Grumpy Ex's Secret Baby

“Thank you so much,” I said before shutting the door behind him.

I walked into the living room to find Trinity asleep on the couch. It had taken the men hours to set up the system, and I had kept her inside and out of their way through it all. She had been less than impressed, especially with her new toy outside.

However, a few princess movies and some cookies after dinner were more than enough to keep her distracted until she fell asleep.

“Bedtime,” I said, picking her up and carrying her to her room.

Trinity groaned and rubbed her eyes, trying to fight the sleep as it took over. Once she was changed, and in bed, I left the room to go make a call that was a few hours overdue.

“Hello,” Tyson said, sounding exhausted when he answered the call. “How’s the new security system?”

“Confusing as hell,” I said as I sat down on the couch and leaned back into the cushions. “It’s a lot for a home. I didn’t think that I needed that much protection.”

“Haley, I take protecting you and my daughter very seriously. If you have any problems with that system, it’s the same one I use at home. You call me any time of the day if you need help. I’m here for you guys.”

I shifted on the couch, crossing my legs under me. “I appreciate that. You and I have a lot more talking that we still need to do.”

“I know we do. That video of Trinity was cute. I’m glad she liked the car.”

“I should have called you over and invited you to watch her see it for the first time. I’m sorry I keep fucking this up between us.”

“Haley, I think it’s time we both stop apologizing. It’s not getting us anywhere.”

He was right, and I knew he was right. I kept pushing him away and then apologizing like it was going to fix something. It wasn’t. I just kept launching us straight back into the same struggle that we had been going through for the past couple of weeks.

“When can we talk? Can you come over tonight?”

“I’ve got some calls for Crestwood Capital that I have to be on for the next couple of days and then some extra work to do down at the laundromat. I’ll be available Friday night, though.”

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. As much as I wanted to talk to him sooner, the conversation could wait. It would give me more time to think over exactly what I was going to say to him.

“Alright, Friday works for me.”

“You want to come over to my place?” he asked, sounding hopeful. “I’ve got a room set up for Trinity, and before you can say anything, yes, I know she isn’t going to be staying with me. She just needs somewhere she can call her own if you guys come over for an evening.”

“Friday night at your place. I’ll see if Bret or my dad can watch Trinity.”

“I’ve got to get going,” Tyson said. “I have another call coming in, but I’ll come pick you up on Friday. If you need anything before then, just give me a call, okay?”

“Okay, Ty.”

As soon as the call ended, I went to the kitchen and poured myself a glass of wine. I was going over to Tyson’s on Friday, and we were going to make this work. I wouldn’t leave until we had more of this situation figured out.

That is if we don’t end up fighting again.

It seemed like an impossibility. We were constantly fighting with each other, and there was nothing that would stop it. We had never fought this much when we were younger, but now that there was a third person in the relationship to think about, we were arguing all the time.

I was willing to admit that a good portion of it was my fault. I was too indecisive about letting Tyson into Trinity’s life. I needed to make a decision about his role and commit to it.

I’m so screwed,I thought as I finished the first glass of wine and poured myself another.

16

TYSON

Isatinmytruck outside Haley’s home, watching as she said goodbye to Trinity and Bret. Trinity grinned at the truck and waved. I waved back, smiling and wishing she could also come over. Haley thought it was a bad idea, but I wanted Trinity to come see her new room.

After Haley finished saying goodbye again, she jogged to the truck and got in. She didn't say anything . She pulled the seatbelt across her body and stared out the front window. I wanted to know what was going through her mind in that moment, but I suspected that she wouldn’t tell me even if I had asked.

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